Chapter 69: The Prosecutor's Secret

Margaret Sloan stepped out of the black sedan without hesitation.

The three government vehicles remained idling behind her.

Two men in dark suits followed several steps back.

Neither carried visible weapons.

Victor's expression hardened the moment he saw her.

"You shouldn't be here," he said quietly.

Margaret removed her gloves before answering.

"Neither should you."

"Yet here we both are."

Arthur watched the security monitors carefully.

"No police escorts."

"No agency markings."

"Who exactly does she work for now?"

"That's the problem," Victor replied.

"Nobody knows anymore."

Damien opened the front door before she could knock.

"State your business."

Margaret looked past him until her eyes found me.

"I'm here for Vivian Carter."

"Not Ashford."

"Carter."

The distinction wasn't accidental.

I stepped forward.

"You've been looking for me?"

"For quite some time."

"Then why wait until now?"

She entered the manor slowly.

"Because until yesterday, you didn't possess the evidence."

"Now you do."

Victor immediately closed the door behind her.

"Say what you came to say."

"You've already wasted twenty years of my life."

Margaret met his gaze without flinching.

"I declared Elias Hayes legally dead."

"That decision has haunted me every day since."

The room fell silent.

"You knew?" Victor asked.

"Not then."

"I know now."

Arthur folded his arms.

"Start from the beginning."

Margaret placed her leather briefcase on the conference table.

"Twenty-six years ago I was a junior prosecutor."

"I received a sealed investigation file regarding the disappearance of Elias Hayes."

"The evidence appeared overwhelming."

"Witness statements."

"A damaged boat."

"Blood samples."

"Dental records."

"Everything pointed to one conclusion."

"Death."

"Except it wasn't real," Victor said coldly.

"No."

"It wasn't."

She unlocked the briefcase.

Inside rested several old case files tied together with faded blue ribbon.

"Three weeks ago someone anonymously delivered these to my office."

"Original copies."

"Not the altered versions used in court."

Arthur immediately began comparing the documents.

"The signatures don't match," he muttered.

"Neither do the dates."

"Half these witness statements were fabricated."

Margaret nodded.

"Exactly."

"Someone manufactured an entire death."

"Why bring them to us?" Damien asked.

"Because the anonymous sender left a note."

"What note?"

She unfolded a small sheet of paper.

Nathaniel's handwriting.

"When Vivian finds the journal... give this to Victor."

Victor slowly accepted the note.

His hands trembled.

"Nathaniel mailed this?"

"Three years ago," Margaret answered.

"It arrived through a legal trust that activated after his death."

"The trust required me to wait until Richard Ashford's identity was confirmed."

"Only then could I release the files."

"Nathaniel planned this too," I whispered.

"He always stayed three moves ahead."

Victor unfolded the note.

Only two lines were written.

"Don't blame yourself."

"He chose to disappear because he believed you'd never stop looking."

Victor closed his eyes.

"Idiot," he murmured with a faint smile.

"He even knew how I'd react after he was gone."

Arthur continued examining the files.

"There's something unusual here."

"Every forged document was authorised by the same office."

"Which office?" Damien asked.

Arthur pointed to the official seal.

"Department of Internal Security."

"That's impossible," Margaret said immediately.

"Those records should never have left the department."

"Unless Raven already controlled part of it," Victor replied.

Nobody argued.

The possibility was becoming impossible to ignore.

Margaret removed one final folder from her briefcase.

"There's more."

"This never reached court."

"Why not?"

"Because someone classified it before I could read it."

Arthur carefully opened the folder.

Inside was a psychological assessment.

Subject:

Elias Hayes.

Status:

Recruit undergoing identity restructuring.

"Dear God," Rose whispered.

"Identity restructuring?"

"Brainwashing," Victor answered quietly.

"A cleaner name for the same thing."

Arthur turned another page.

"Progress Report."

"Subject retains fragmented emotional memories."

"Family recognition remains possible."

"Continue isolation."

"Do not permit contact with brother."

Victor's jaw tightened.

"They were afraid he'd remember us."

"Yes," Margaret replied.

"Which means they never completely succeeded."

"Nathaniel's diary said Elias apologised without knowing why," I said.

"Part of him survived."

"Exactly."

Suddenly Arthur's laptop chimed.

"Incoming encrypted email."

"Unknown sender."

"Open it," Victor ordered.

A single image appeared.

A security camera still.

An underground train platform.

A tall man in a dark coat stood waiting beside the tracks.

His face was turned toward the camera.

There was no doubt.

It was Elias Hayes.

Alive.

Older.

Watching.

Beneath the image was one sentence.

"You have forty-eight hours before Raven moves him again."

No signature.

Only a small symbol at the bottom of the message.

A raven.

Missing its left eye.